All Entries in the "Sideways Is the New Up" Category
The NAB Are Some Wild and Crazy Guys
The National Association of Broadcasters is making a lot of noise with their proposal for a performance royalty settlement. Unfortunately, it reminds me of an old Steve Martin comedy bit…
Misery Loves Company: It’s Not Just the Concert Business
It’s been well reported that Live Nation’s ticket sales are down (see the NYTimes story and hear the NPR story if you missed them), but what hasn’t been reported is that the issue is widespread, and unlikely to change…
Ditching the Singles Scene: B-Side
In the A-Side of this post, we saw that record labels are trying to move away from a singles mentality. That was at retail. Down the hall in promotions, it’s all about pushing that one track…
Ditching the Singles Scene: A-Side
Labels finally realize that the sale of digital singles is a dead end. And while they’re trying new tactics at the retail level, the radio promotional strategy reinforces bad habits…
Sex Sells: Erykah Badu and Lady Gaga Get Naked To Move Units
Using T & A to sell music isn’t new, but it is effective. Erykah Badu and Lady Gaga use it in somewhat different ways, or do they?
Is Commercial AAA Radio Lost?
Not long ago, Commercial AAA Radio had at least three killer apps — a music mix you couldn’t find anywhere else, curators helping people discover new music, and a local focus. All three are increasingly rare…
Terra (in)Firma: The Amazing Backstory of the EMI Debacle
Why did Guy Hands and his buyout firm Terra Firma pay $8 billion for EMI in 2007? Ego may be one answer, but another may because Citigroup dealmakers lied to him. Hands was bidding against himself…
Have the Wheels Come Off John Mayer?
As if the Rolling Stone interview wasn’t bad enough, in John Mayer’s Playboy interview, he drops the N-word, talks about his racist penis, and otherwise dares his fans to continue liking him…
Forrester Research Publishes Ugly Graph: Music Sales Cut in Half in Last Decade
Kind of like a car wreck– it’s ugly but you can’t help but look. Music sales plunged from more than $14 billion to $6.3 billion in the last ten years. Why this is bad for radio, as well as the TV, film, and publishing industries…
Is NPR The Next Radiohead?
With a digital strategy, Radiohead successfully ditched the middleman. NPR has the potential to do the same. Could it all backfire? You betcha…
